Big Little Lovin'

OU weekend went as fast as it had come, and many Zetas were feeling exhausted, yet relieved, that the previous week’s stress had come to a close. However, it wouldn’t be a true UT school week if we didn’t have seemingly a million planned events directly after the others ended. That Wednesday, October 14th, was “I Love My Big Night,” an informal gathering to express your love for the special connection to PC 14, a formal bond that takes “zistas” to an elevated level. Unfortunately, it seemed as though many girls were consumed with schoolwork or previous obligations that prevented them from attending the event. That being said, there was still a substantial amount of girls that filed into the Zeta living room, every little attached to their big.
“I Love My Big Night” creeped up on me. I always knew I would perform something for my big, but I had no idea that October 14th would come up so fast (seriously, where has the time gone?). On Monday, Hailey Bailey (PC ‘15) and I teamed up to form a rap for our bigs, best friends Chelsei Brown and Ali Murray (PC ‘14). The rhyming dictionary became our best friend that night; we stayed up so late that Hailey had to look up what rhymed with “blue.” Hailey, literally there are so many words that come to mind instantaneously that I’m worried about how delirious we were becoming by 2 AM for you to have to look that up. But that’s beside the point.


Anyway, as we sat around the living room, surrounded by two abnormally large sheets of cookie cake (shout out to the Big/Little chairs), we had the opportunity to spend a little part of our Wednesday with our bigs.
Most littles stood up, one by one, to say a little about why they love their big. Even though it wasn’t long, it was admirable to see how much these littles cared for their older counterparts. Hailey Bailey and I, semi resembling males in our “swag” apparel, performed our raps for our bigs, stuttering through the words as we laughed too hard to get some out. I’m not big on public speaking, or in this case, rapping? But it didn’t matter. Based on the lengths my big is willing to go (did you see her on big/little reveal?) for me, I have no problem somewhat embarrassing myself for her.
Some girls gave a gift, whether it be Tiff’s treats, ZTA jewelry, or maybe both; others teamed up and read a poem, like Alexa Ryder and Chandler Cherry. When I heard about this event in the past years, I pictured some huge theatrical production. And that gave me an incredibly large amount of anxiety. The fact that it was set in the familiar part of our shared home, in casual clothes, made the whole ceremony more meaningful. No girl felt an immense amount of stress to impress their big, or compete with anyone else, but rather they just got a chance to share their experiences or connections with their big.
 In my opinion, the first things that comes to one’s mind and on ­the spot reflections are the most accurate and deep. As a little, I loved the opportunity to do something for my big. We’re used to receiving baskets full of t­-shirts and other Zeta goodies for seemingly no reason, but we often overlook the amount of effort that went on behind the scenes. Littles, there’s probably a big t-­shirt that was in your bid day basket that tore your big up to give away. Ali, I know that pink shirt with the flower pocket was hard to part with, and I love you for that! I cannot be more thankful for my big and all she has/will do for me in the coming years. It has made the transition into college and Zeta so much smoother, and that’s something that I’ll forever be grateful for. So, littles, if you didn’t get the chance to attend this event, or even if you did, be sure to send your big some extra love today and everyday. You have 72 Zista’s your age, but only one big, so don’t let her forget how much she means to you.

ZLAM

Taylor Gray, PC '15